Resident Evil Code: Veronica X

"Clare & Steve sitt'n in a tree..."

Resident Evil is a 3D puzzle, horror, and action game. This is sometimes referred to as a survival horror and is one of the most revolutionary games out there to today. This is Resident Evil: Code Veronica X, the sequel of Resident Evil 3 and the Playstation 2 version of Resident Evil: Code Veronica. It doesn’t connect to it (RE3) in too many ways, AT ALL, and is more related to the first and second Resident Evil. I would recommend playing all the previous Resident Evils before hand. If you aren’t that good on cash, just try Resident Evil 1 and/or 2.

Game Play:
This was never Resident Evil’s strongest point... But most of the think in most survival horror games came from the Resident Evil series… the game play went down from Resident Evil 3…

Movement: Well, first off this game is 3D. Any ways, you press up to move forward and left and right to turn. Down moves backwards. This was also the first game series (I think) that used this type of method. It was unique at the time. Well you can run in this game. You just hold in a button, which you will most likely have you finger on for the whole game. You can also push boxes for completing a tons of puzzles and hop on top of little objects. This movement system is accurate but is not always fast in the heat of battle. This game also added the quick turn. This will let you do a 180 degree turn, which means you can actually run away from things without getting raped. The movement aspect of this game might also get you caught on a couple objects like a table sticking out of the wall... I do not know why, but they took out that ability to freely run up stairs... This was only in Resident Evil 3... well enemies can still move up and down, but it’s not fluid.

Combat: The combat system also started in this series. First off, you have to find a weapon, then equip it. Then you have to hold down your “ready” button. Then while your gun is drawn you can turn, look up or down, and most importantly, shoot. You get a well rounded array of weapons two. You get things from a knife, a pistol, a shot gun, a rocket launcher, a magnum, an assault rifle and more! Most enemies have a weapon that works well against them too. The general aiming is still easy. Why? Because of the auto aim. This makes you turn instantly toward an enemy. Thus aiming is cake as all hell. They did one huge take out in this game. In Resident Evil 3, you could dodge, well they took this all out. Now you get to just stand there like you used to and just hope you put them down before they reach you. They did, however, keep the exploding barrels which help to kill things in some areas. These sometimes are bad, because they actually can kill you fast...

Enemies: Here is an awesome part of the game. Resident Evil’s main enemy type has always been the zombies. Zombies are every where. They walk, bite your neck, make funny and gross noises, and splatter! There are also a few types of dressed up zombies too, some even have night vision still on and bomb packs! The zombies in this game are not as hard as the original, but they are harder than the other two games. They can damage and some can really move. Any ways, there are also zombie dogs to play with. Once you find these, your combat will change, since they are fast. There are also a bunch of other cool monsters in this game, such as the Poisining Giant Spiders (Not the hairy kind, the Widow kind!) and the hunter (Two new types) have returned, only they don’t behead anymore... in fact, nothing at all decapitates. One another great part I love about the enemies, besides them actually chucking all over the place, is that once you totally kill an enemy, they leave a blood pool where you killed them.

Bosses: This Resident Evil has the best bosses in my opinion. Why? Because the majority of them has a story behind them. I suppose the first boss is a worm, but you never have to kill it... but other it and another boss, all the others are humanoid (humans before hand) or actually humans. You will see how this is better, since fighting something you’ve actually chased after is better sometimes than the Random bosses from the previous games. What more, is that all the bosses have their own great theme music and they look great. Hell, even most bosses can be killed in all new ways. Out of all the Resident Evils, the final boss is not only the hardest (I actually broke a controller before I figured out how to kill it better...) but also dramatic.

Puzzles: This is the biggest part of the game, I would say. There are about three types of puzzles in this game. The first is carrying items and using them is certain places. This is the most common and sometime tenuous. Sometimes you have to carry up to four items for one puzzle, then if you miss something you have to go back and forth to item boxes. This includes holding keys with different pictures on them (which open different doors) and things like cranks to revolve certain things. The second are single puzzles that take place in one room. These are the most fun to complete and are well thought out. These include things like pushing boxes in various ways to either open something or get buy and things like pressing switches in a correct order. The last type are annoying puzzles that require you to read through files. These are everywhere now! This usually includes you having to find a password for a computer or something like that.

Layout: This game just one big level. No stages and no breaks, just start from finish. You can save your game, by using ink ribbon on a type writer, they still didn’t upgrade to floppy disks.... This is a good idea, but you do not get and unlimited amount of ink ribbon... but there is plenty. The one thing that is very different from the previous ones, is that you can not choose who you would like to be. You start out has Clare from Resident Evil 2. You play has her (and sometimes her friend, Steve) All through the first half of the game. Then “something” happens and you take control of another character, with will most likely ruin the story...

The game play, I would say, is the most balanced of them all.
Good

Challenge:
This Resident Evil is the longest and hard one to complete in the puzzle areas. The enemies are way harder than the previous two installment Without any help from a FAQ or a guide, it can take you quiet some time to figure out where to go and what to do.

I am note entirely sure, but I am sure they took out the difficulty selection option This makes the plays through always difficult... so if you are just in for the story, this may turn you off. This would be the hardest Resident Evil, but there is no Nemesis like before... The zombies aren’t the hardest they ever been, but this game has a lot of smart enemies. The Hunters (The token “Hard/Well known” RE Monster) do lack a one hit kill, but can leap over you and head you off before a door! But a thing that has returned that made the combat so easy is the option of the auto aim. True you don’t have to turn it on, but you probably will once you find out it exists. This allows you to turn instantly to an enemy and devoids all skill put into aiming. Also, you cannot die instantly any more. Remember how in the first one a Hunter could just slice and behead you? Well now you have to be in the “Orange” Caution or Danger condition to be killed like this. They did change the health system around. Now you actually run slower for how damaged you are. At (Green/Yellow) fine you run all right, at (Yellow/Orange) Caution you hold one arm and run a tad slower, but at (Red) Danger you have a mad gimp.

This is a very easy game to “A Rank” at the end... not sure why, but I completed this one in the least amount of tries compared to all the others.
Outstanding

Control:
The control is about has good as it gets here. First off, there is not combos or any difficult combinations that have to be put in. Well this is more of a puzzle game after all... Any ways, there are a couple of flaws here and there. The way you walk and run in this game is good because it is accurate, but you will run into walls at times and corner things badly. And unless you shoot right in the middle of looking up and down, you can only aim strait and about 45 degrees up or down (This makes hitting low enemies not right in front of you hard as balls). The quick turn is a major up grade too. There is also weapons that can be fired in first person. This isn’t that great because it is not a invert aim and you can not change it.

The control is almost exactly the same as the first Resident Evil 3, with out the dodging.
Great

Story:
This is with out a doubt the strongest point of this game and is why most people fell in love this the Resident Evil Series. It starts off like this...

(Events of Resident Evil 1 and Resident 2 {Resident Evil 3 is almost in the dark})

The game starts out as Clare, looking for her brother, again. She fines out he might be somewhere in England or some place like that. She then takes off to an Umbrella facility on an island. Well she gets caught and thrown into a little jail cell. Well some guy does let you out, only because the island is effected by the good ‘ol T virus again, which makes tons of zombies. You then step foot into a palace and find the Residents...

Of course there are plot twists and all and the story actually goes pretty in depth. The one part they made crappy was that there is no alternate paths to the story with in the same game.
Outstanding

Visuals:
The graphics in this game are fantastic! Every thing looks great. Even better than before! All the characters are 3D and have detail in them. All the back rounds are 2D, which is a pretty cool combo. The items stick out enough, since they are 3D. They also all shine and blink so you can see them this time around. They still kept the full motion videos. The outside levels and especially the park are wonderfully done. Every room has new pictures or statues or something of that nature. All the outside areas are filled with fire and mayhem. Guess what else they improved? You can now talk with you mouth while it moves! Well this is on a next gen system...
Outstanding

Audio:
The music in this game regular atmosphere is not that well done, but it fits the mood and makes the game feel eerie. Hell, even flies hitting a lamppost forever is done well and scary. When you encounter new enemies, the music is chilling and will make you jump. Some tunes are great, including my favorite, the “Albiniod’s Theme.”

The effects are great. Things like panting dogs and screeching hunters ready to leap are nicely done and will freak the hell out of you. These effects are generally the same as in the original. The game will still freak you out when you enter a room and all you hear is walking... The hunter still has its screech, which kicks ass.

The voice acting is great... Whether it be the girly voice of Alfred or the teen age puberty riddle Steve.
Outstanding

Re playability:
Well other than going through the game another time because you want to try and get a better grade, there is hardly a reason to play through again other than to re-fresh the story.

But there is just one thing they added, again... The battle game. This one is very short and easy however... It is good because each character is very different and you get unlimited ammo, but it has no story involved in it and it brings you to rooms that aren’t connected in the real game. So one room would be a lab then the next might be underway next to a submarine Each character has its own unique boss to fight also... The mini game can also be played in a first person view (Sadly enough, this is better than Resident Evil: Survivor).
Outstanding

Pros:
More story, since the game is around one person (at a time)
More guns
Hunters are back and more evil than ever
Devil May Cry Demo
More on Wesker.

Cons:
Most good things added to Resident Evil 3 were taken out

Rent or Buy:
I would buy this if you are into Resident Evil. If you ever played any Resident Evil, then you should pick this game up right now!

Final Rating:
I give this game a nine out of ten, because it is a good and solid game.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/07/03